ASHEVILLE - There is beer that goes into pint glasses and down the hatch. And then there is brew that finds its way into some unusual local products.

On the Asheville scene, there is beer shampoo, beer ice cream, beer barbecue sauce, beer lip balm and beer massage treatment. As more brew comes out of Beer City, innovative companies have created products to use beer in unexpected ways.

The beer products help promote the hot brewing scene here and bring attention to breweries in new markets.

One of Asheville's biggest beer products is Broo shampoo and conditioner, which has grown its distribution across the country. The company, founded here five years ago, has just introduced three new products made with a shot of caffeine along with the beer. But as sales have grown, production has shifted to the Midwest and it no longer uses beers from Ashevlle's Highland Brewing in its products, said Brad Pearsall, who founded Broo with his wife, Sarah.

"It wasn't feasible to drive beer out there to manufacture" the products, he said. The company is keeping headquarters in Asheville and the Pearsalls remain plugged into the local craft beer scene, they said. Eventually the company hopes to have a beer produced just for its use, Sarah Pearsall said.

The new shampoo-conditioner products — lemon citrus thickening, hop flower moisturizing and malted mint invigorating — have basically replaced the company's original line, although those classic products may be ordered online. Broo has big distribution through such stores as Whole Foods, Earth Fare and other natural food outlets, but is now available in more than 700 Walmart stores and online through Target.com.

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Brad and Sarah Pearsall toast with a glass of beer Feb. 12 in their office off Hendersonville Road. They make beer-based shampoo and have expanded to a nationwide distribution.(Photo: Maddy Jones/mjones@citizen-times.com)

The big chill

Asheville beer is increasingly being used in local ice cream. The Hop and Ultimate Ice Cream both produce beer-flavored products, and Hendersonville's Fields of Gold Farm has made beer-infused gelato.

The Hop has made at least 50 beer products, and almost always has a beer ice cream on tap at its stores on Merrimon Avenue and Haywood Road, and at its West Asheville Creamery production site, owner Greg Garrison said. It all started with a collaboration between The Hop and the now-closed Craggie Brewing Co., he said. Since then, The Hop has made ice cream with almost every Asheville brewery. Recent products include ice cream made from New Belgium's Citradelic Tangerine IPA, Hi-Wire's Strongman Coffee Milk Stout and and Bhramari Brewhouse's Carolina Common.

The beer is cooked into a reduction, which removes the alcohol, and then added into ice cream. One of Garrison's next projects is an ice cream made with Catawba's Peanut Butter and Jelly beer, to be released in March.

"The beer scene is awesome and we wanted to be part of it," he said. "I'm paying attention to what the breweries are doing" and picking new brews to become ice cream, he said.

Beer and rubdown

At Asheville's Spa Theology, beer is used in one of the signature massage treatments. But not just any beer will do — they go with Rocket Girl Lager from Asheville Brewing. Lighter beers are better for massages, said spa director Daniel Smith. "You get more of the yeast" in lighter brews, he said. And "some of the darker ones have a stronger smell," he said. For massages, beer is mixed with an organic cream.

Whatever is left from a can of Rocket Girl is offered to the customer to drink, he said. "People just love the concept," he said. The beer is a great source for vitamin D, he said. And it can help in fighting acne. It's really nothing new, Smith said. "Since Roman and Egyptian times, women would use beer as part of their beauty treatment," he said.

Brew and 'cue

Smoking J's Fiery Foods, of Candler, is based around a farm that's famous for its its chilies. "But with Asheville being a food town, we launched our own line of products," said founder Joel Mowrey. They include two barbecue sauces made with local brews.

The company's first beer barbecue sauce was made in 2013, with Highland Brewing's Black Mocha Stout. The sauce has a robust and sweet flavor. Smoking J's followed with a second sauce made with Asheville Brewing's Ninja Porter, which is a bit spicier.

Mowrey buys beer by the the 15.5 gallon barrel and reduces it to 2.5 gallons which "pretty much takes the alcohol out of it," he said. He's looking to make a third sauce using another brewery's beer, and eventually may produce a six pack of beer sauces, each with it's own flavor.

Beer and mustard

Crooked Condiments of Asheville has built its mustards around Asheville beer. It now has three of them on the market made with Highland Brewing beers: Gaelic Ale, St. Terese's Pale Ale and Oatmeal Porter. When the company started seven years ago, the idea of using beer in a mustard was fairly novel.

"We approached Highland, and they were incredibly helpful," said company co-owner Chelsea Madison. "We wouldn't have a company if it wasn't for (Highland founder) Oscar Wong."

The beer replaces water in the recipe, she said. "Beer is over 50 percent of the product." Crooked Condiments sells its products in local higher-end grocery stores and natural food markets.

Crooked Condiments has a line of mustards made with beer from Highland Brewing.(Photo: Courtesy Crooked Condimentss)

Where to get beer products

Sierra Nevada, which operates a brewery in Mills River, sells such products as Beer Brittle, Jalapeno Beer Brittle and Brittle Chocolate Crunch candies made with pale ale; mustards made with pale ale, porter and stout; Hop Hunter and stout barbecue sauces; and dog treats made with spent brewers grain. Look for them at the brewery gift shop or online at www.sierranevada.com

The Hop has beer flavored ice creams at its shops at 640 Merrimon Ave., North Asheville, and 721 Haywood Road, West Asheville; and sampling flights are sold at 6-9 p.m. Fridays at its Creamery production site, 167 Haywood Road in West Asheville.

Smoking J's Fiery Foods barbecue sauce and other products made be purchased in high-end specialty stores, Highland Brewing and online at https://smokingjsfieryfoods.com

Brad and Sarah Pearsall raise a glass of beer Feb. 12 in their office off Hendersonville Road. The Pearsalls make beer-based shampoo and have expanded to a nationwide distribution.(Photo: Maddy Jones/mjones@citizen-times.com)